It is not only about managing budgets or the number of people that will travel, business travel planning goes much further, especially when you are not a Travel Manager or Assistant Director.
At present, some people are dedicated solely and exclusively to planning business trips. They are people who have the training and knowledge to manage quality corporate travel. In this article, we share their tips so you can plan your next business trip.
It's not just about booking cheap hotels and flights or having a travel budget. Other aspects must also be considered, such as keeping expense policies in mind, transfer costs, having a contingency plan, and maintaining a healthy relationship with suppliers.
Another aspect that sometimes goes unnoticed is the dates. For example, if your company holds bi-annual or annual conventions, looking for dates in low seasons will greatly help the general management of the trip, both in terms of experience and prices.
When analyzing travel trends, it is easier to identify which are the most frequent situations, destinations, the number of people who travel, etc.; therefore, in flights, lodging, food, and mobility, details will be fine-tuned in the budgets.
If additional charges such as extra luggage, Wi-Fi connection, or consumption within the hotel are well identified, it is advisable to consider it from the beginning and verify that these services are available free of charge.
Good relationships with suppliers will facilitate negotiations, helping to obtain better prices and additional benefits; for this, it is important to know the market in detail and to know the maximum point of negotiation.
Once the negotiation has been reached, it is convenient to freeze the agreement reached.
Travel policies are the guidelines that are responsible for controlling security practices and ensuring traveler satisfaction.
Among these guidelines are: the organization of trips, the assignment of hotel categories, transportation, and food management based on the organization chart of the company, among others.
Their objective is to guarantee the organization of an excellent price to achieve the comfort of employees and improve productivity while traveling.
Its main advantages are: Reduction of accidents, costs, facilitating mobility and motivating employees, and facilitating prospecting.
It is advisable to hire an agency that is in charge of it or to have a responsible area depending on the size of the company, and in this way, improve the productivity of the employees, reducing quote times, detecting savings opportunities, carrying out the purchase and manage the trip in general.